Abstract art is often misunderstood and that is what makes it beautiful, ironically. It is the purest form of art and doesn’t represent a definite depiction of a visual reality. Instead, it uses shapes, forms, colours and gestural signs to achieve its result. Most art that is created today is referred to as abstract art and artists have freed themselves from creating picture perfect paintings that precisely reflect the reality. Instead, they paint their interpretation of what they see and perceive and this is known as abstract art. Abstract art contains lack of objectivity, which is why several people find it complicated and easily misunderstand its interpretation.
The pioneers of abstract painting were Kazimir Malevich and Piet Mondrian who introduced abstract art to the world in about 1910-20 when the introduction of photography came about and freed artists from making exact reflections of the reality. Now they could dwell in something more appealing and personal.
Theories behind Abstract Art
Several theoretical ideologies support abstract art, one of which speaks about creating art for art’s sake – that art should be painted of beautiful effects. In another theory it pairs art with music in a way that music is made up of symbols and patterns of sound similarly art should be created from pure patterns of form, line and colour. According to the famous Greek philosopher, Plato that the highest form of beauty lies not in the forms of the real world but in geometry. This is also an ideology that is connected with abstract art in a way that the materialist world doesn’t represent abstract art but actually is an interpretation of the spiritual world.
Abstract art is best compared with literature or poetry. For instance, the great writer Edgar Allan Poe was very careful in selecting every word for his poems and stories in order to provoke a constant feeling of horror within his readers, similarly a great abstract painter can choose each brush stroke to evoke a specific emotion.
The Marvels of Abstract Art
Several novice art lovers might stroll across an exhibition or an art gallery and misinterpret a piece of abstract art, which might cause frustration amongst those who have a stronger understanding of the idea behind the painting. Many new art lovers might also claim that it’s not a difficult job to recreate that specific piece of abstract art. But in due time they will understand that the most amateurish looking pieces of art have been crafted with elaboration, and immense amount of thought and inspiration. They will be able to realise that the artist carefully selects every drop of paint to provoke an emotion and placement of each stroke is meant to create an emotion for their own sake.
The purpose of abstract art is to instigate some sort of sensation, memories or emotions by concentrating the brush strokes and not trying so hard to interpret will allow you to get a better understanding of what the artist was trying to paint. Let your eyes dance around the twirls, twists and turns, dip into the surface and wander around the painting. Try to examine the colours, materials, surface and forms that have been created in the masterpiece. Take your time as it won’t come swiftly to you and let the painting speak to you.
